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2013-02-26 - It Takes Focus
With the influx of new students this term, Alex has invited any interested parties to participate in 'power control' class. Clad in his workout gear, he offers smiles to those that have gathered for the class. He lifts a hand in greeting, "Hello all. For those of you who might not know me, my name is Alex Summers." He grins and waves a hand. "Yes, I'm related to Scott..he's my brother, but no worries, I'm much cooler than he is." A playful wink before he speaks further. "I'm the physics teacher here at the institute, but I also help out in helping you guys harness and control your mutant powers." He begins to walk and gestures as he speaks. "It's important that we all learn control, both for ourselves and for the sake of those around us. It will be difficult sometimes, but the reward is definitely worth it. Before we start, are there any questions for me?" Kenzie looked to Alex as he headed the class again. She had her gauntlets on her hands in place of her normal leather gloves, her powers still on the mend. While she was reaching a point she could begin to do things without the gauntlets, doing so had so far proven dangerous or futile. "Any experience wit' power loss? An how trainin might can help wit recovery?" the girl asked in her thick cajun accent. As Kenzie starts to finish speaking, the Staff Elevator doors slide open to reveal Scott with a girl, and that girl is young and most certainly not Jean. He steps out of the elevator with the girl in tow, "This is the basement, where the gym and indoor pool is. Your self-defense classes are held here, as are a number of other classes such as gymnastics, fencing, and more." He then raises a hand to wave at Alex, waiting to make sure this is a good time to interrupt. No one would recognize the girl with him, not even Alex. She's late and she knows it! Amaya is high tailing it to the the class room and comes charging through the door. She tries to stop but slides a little bit. Looking down, She happens to be wearing her slippers. So much for a good first impression for this class. She quickly recovers and takes a seat. Quickly she pulls out a pen and paper and starts jotting down any and all information she can gather. Dasha follows behind Scott, chin held high, back straight. Her eyes dart over the assembled students, and her nostrils flare slightly. Her lips turned downward in her frown, she watches as the late arrival makes her entrance. Dasha raises a single blonde eyebrow, looking questioningly at Scott. Alex Summers looks over when the elevator door opens and waves Scott in before addressing the question from Kenzie. "Loosing your powers happens sometimes. Whether they are suppressed or mentally blocked from you, there are multiple ways of regaining them. Meditation helps, or physical strain. For most of us, our powers are linked with our emotions...finding the trigger can also help with 'sparking', forgive the pun.." He winks at Kenzie. "...your abilities back to active status. Being able to control your emotions is also key to controlling your powers." Alex grins. "Remaining calm is the key. Now, some of you may have abilities that can't be controlled, for example my brother's power is always 'on', so he wears the glasses to protect others from his power. Should that be the case, our resident genius, Dr. McCoy can usually devise something to help you out." Kenzie nodded slightly at the response, looking down at the gauntlets she wore. Pausing slightly, the girl turned to look over Scott and the new girl offering a welcoming smile to her before turning her attention back to Alex after pushing her oakleys back up on her nose. Scott's blink is missed behind his red lenses and he sighs slightly, "New student," he tells Dasha. But then he nods toward Alex and says quietly to her, "Alex Summers, my little brother." A hint of pride in his tone. "He's still in college full-time, but still teaches here, and is a trainer for Generation X." Alright, now he is bragging. But he clears his throat as he catches himself doing that. Then sighs a bit when he is used as an example. That is when Jennifer Takeda, "That right? I'll be impressed when he can figure out how to surgically remove the X-Gene," her tone obviously bitter. The girl is in a yellow Hazmat suit with blue border lines. She appears of Asian decent if one gets close enough to peer clearly through the plasticity face front. What a delightful sounding girl, right? Scott rolls his eyes heavenward behind his sunglasses. But he then clears his throat, "I'm sorry to interrupt Alex, but we have a new student that hasn't even had her tour yet, "Daria Rykov. Daria, this is a teacher here at Xavier's, Alex Summers, and fellow students, Kenzie Young," famous in the news as a 'legally proven innocent' mutant terrorist, "Amaya Sparks, and Jennifer Takeda." Amaya finishes writing down what was said rather quickly. She quickly turns and gives a little wave to Daria, "Hi!" Her tone is quiet so she doesn't disturb the class. She turns back to Alex and asks, "What if you don't really know what you are capable of with your powers? I mean I know a little of what I can do but not enough to actually use my powers safely. At least in my opinion." Dasha lifts her nose at her introduction, her eyes following Scott's hand as he points out everyone. Dasha nods to each of them, crossing her arms over her chest. She's quiet, just watching. Alex Summers smiles at Jennifer. "I know your situation is unique, Jennifer, but I don't believe there is a 'cure' for the mutant gene. Which means you have to make the best of the hand that's been dealt to you, kiddo." He grins at Amaya's question. "That's why we're here. To learn what we're capable of, and how to control it." He takes a moment to greet Daria. "Hey there. Welcome to the school." Alex continues. "We encourage you to experiment, find out what you can do. However, we also insist that it's done in a controlled environment with a teacher present if possible. Just to make sure that you're safe. Now..let's talk more about control. I'd like everyone to try this exercise." He relaxes his body and closes his eyes. "Find your center, and relax every muscle in your body. Imagine something that is relaxing for you. For me, it's a serene river. I mentally project it and manipulate it. I can have the water trickle past, imagining that it is my power. This way, I can control how much and how fast the water goes." He opens his eyes and they glow a bright yellow. "By increasing the water flow slowly, I tap deeper into the well of energy." Now, his hands glow yellow and seem to be enveloped in yellow flame as tendrils of smoke wisp off of them. The effects disappear as he says, "Now, I want everyone to simply try accessing their powers. Slowly and carefully." Scott then nods toward Daria, "Go ahead and take a seat on the mat and join them. If you wish to finish a tour later, take the staff elevator to the ground floor, and go down the hall, and take a left at the branch for the Headmaster's office. I will be there with Warren until your parents arrive." An awkward pat to Daria's shoulder, and then Scott heads back to the staff elevator to get some paperwork together. Dasha nods at Scott. "Thank you, Mr. Summers." She flinches under his awkward pat, then breathes deeply. She walks over to the mat, looking down at the others. She looks up at Alex. "What if there is no 'slowly and carefully?'" She asks, taking a seat. Kenzie closes her eyes behind those shades she wears and lowers her self to her mat. Relaxing her body the girl begins to exhale slowly, small tendrils of energy racing along her body before disappearing with an audible 'Snap'. The girls powers were certainly on the mend, the question now was how long till she had regained full control of them once more. As Scott gets in the elevator and it heads up, Alex's phone will buzz with a text message if he has it on him...and the text message will read: 'Feral shape-shifter. Enjoy. :)' Yes, the beestard included the smiley face. And he totally did this to his brother on purpose most likely, providing no real warning. Amaya begins to focus as she gets down on the floor. When she heard about the theme of the class she went out and fired up her generator. While she isn't fully charged she did get an okay charge. Her eyes close. Her mind begins to drift to an old memory. Her palms go into a meditative pose and a small stream of lightning cracks and arcs between her hands. It is not much, about what it would come off of a Jacobs ladder. A smile crosses her lips as she sinks into her relaxation, as though a sweet memory is dancing in her mind. Alex Summers walks between the students who are participating. They're seated on the mats in the gym and Alex is having them access their powers in the attempt to control them better. When Dasha asks her question, he grins at her. "That's okay, too. Sometimes, the training has to be personalized.." And his phone goes off. He checks it real quick as he raises a blonde eyebrow slightly. Another feral. He'd have to thank Scott later. Looking back to Dasha, he smiles. "I think I understand what you mean. We may have to go in a different direction for you. But the core lesson is still the same. Focus equals control." Candi is juggling a stream of pink bubbles while sitting on another one. Of course, she practices with her bubbles all day long. The good part of having a completely harmless power. Still, she watches Alex work with the other students with more than her normal lack of interest for education, or the act of indifference at least. Kenzie kept her eyes closed as she meditated, letting various tendrils of electricity come off of her, but not going very far at all. The occasional snap audible. Amaya continues relaxing. Electricity continues to give soft buzzes as it arcs between her hands. A soft giggle escapes her lips and the arcing picks up speed. It doesn't get stronger though at least. Just faster. Dasha watches the others as they relax, and grits her teeth. Her lip curls in a snarl, of course she has to do something different than the others. "Perhaps I will just watch then," she bites off every syllable, her slight Russian accent crisp. Candi says, "Come on. It's not too hard. Just sit down and relax." She stops her juggling and lets the bubbles bounce across the floor. "Ohm. Ohm." She pretends to close her eyes, doing the whole meditation thing. Alex Summers continues walking along to see the progress of each student. He walks by Candi and grins at her, playfully ruffling her hair as he walks past. When he comes to Dasha, he kneels down in front of her. "Just because we may have to use a different tactic to help you, doesn't mean you're not just like everyone else here. You'll find that nobody will treat you like an outsider." He smiles. "Believe it or not, my mentor is a bit of a feral, much like yourself. We call him Wolverine for a reason." A soft chuckle there. "Laura is just like him. I'll introduce you whenever you like. But if you feel like participating, just do it. No pressure. If you like, I can help you relax." Kenzie looked over to Alex and the new girl. she couldn't help it, its not every day you get a new person here at the school. Pausing a moment, the girl takes her glasses off and sets them down, closing her eyes though people looking would see how they glowed like electrical storms. Amaya continues her relaxation training. She closes her eyes tighter and focuses a little harder. The electricity starts to change it's route. Instead of a simple arc, it starts moving in a straight line and then under her other hand. A few moments later it becomes clear what she is trying to do. The electricity appears to be trying to do a figure eight starting from her left hand under her right but instead it just discharges upwards and fizzling out. Dasha looks up at Alex, her wide yellow eyes bright. More like her? Amazing. Her snarl melts into a bared-teeth smile. She nods ever so slightly. "I would like that. It is hard for me to calm myself..." She darts her eyes over to the other gauging their reactions to her. No mean stares yet... Alex Summers looks around at the others. "Very good, Amaya. You too, Kensington. Candi...try to maintain focus." He caught that her bubbles got away from her, but he's got a grin on his face. He look back at Dasha and adjusts himself so he's sitting in the lotus position. "Place your hands in mine. Let me show you some breathing exercises." He relaxes his shoulders. "Breathe in slowly, hold for one second, then release slowly. Imagine that calming place or situation that I mentioned earlier. Let it soothe you, but don't forget to breathe." He practices with her. "Whoa whoa. Laura is like Mr. Logan? Seriously? He's like, all like, cool and full of life. She's like the complete opposite. She's like, robo girl. I mean, no one loves her more than I do, but she aint exactly the girl to ask to go out and sneak a drunk or go skinny dipping with or something." Candi's hair waves about like angry little snakes after Alex did that ruffling. She then looks up at Alex, the angry snakes looking happier, "Huh? Focus on what? You want me to go back to juggling?" The lightning arcing between Amaya's hands returns to normal as she winces with a bit of pain. Chalk that one up on the do not do list. Her eyes snap open and a stronger burst of electric discharges upward successfully hitting the roof. "oh goodness. That wasn't right." She begins to settle down a little. "Umm Who is Mr. Logan?" Alex Summers looks up when Amaya's lightning hits the roof. It doesn't do any damage, but Alex comments. "You lost focus, but don't worry, you'll get it." He nods to Candi. "Sure. They may have different personalities, but they struggle with the same feral urges." He answers Amaya. "Logan is the self-defense teacher. He's away from the school right now, but you'll meet him eventually." He doesn't comment on the sneaking a drink or smoking. Scott has already cracked down seriously on that. "You can kind of think of Laura as Logan's daughter. To simplify things." Otherwise he'd be here all week explaining those two. "Once you gain a good grasp of your powers, then I can begin to show you how to use them offensively and defensively to protect yourselves. But that's a ways away for some of you." Dasha closes her eyes and puts her hands in his and follows his instruction. In, then out. Her chest rises and falls with each deep breath. She visibly relaxes, the tension draining out of her coiled muscles. Her mind stays blank, unable to think of a calming situation or location. Everywhere she can think of holds too much meaning for her animalistic side. The tension returns with her frustration and she grunts. "What if I can't separate myself?" Dasha suddenly complains, the whine escaping before she can stop it. Kenzie smiles as she is praised, opening her eyes slightly, those bright storms visible to the room. The girl had sweat running down her face, like a person who'd been in traction for months trying to walk after suffering muscle atrophy. Amaya looks at Alex, "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. You said to use a relaxing memory and I was but I just seen my accident and lost it." She frowns and takes a deep breath. She bites her bottom lip and looks down. Taking a deep breath she slowly but surely begins to relaxing again. The soft zapping begins again as electricity begins arcing between her hands once more. Candi juggles a variety of bubbles, thick ones, soft ones, light ones, heavy ones. It makes the juggling take more effort. "I feel like I should be sparking and shit. Or like I should go get a toaster." Alex Summers pats Dasha's hand. "No sweat. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Part if the trick is finding what works for you. Maybe if I knew more about your abilities, I could better help?" He winks at Kenzie and Amaya. "It's okay. Try it again. Remember just access and draw it out slowly. Don't try anything special right now." Alex clears his throat. "Language, Candi." His voice is still soft, even as he reprimands her for more colorful language. Kenzie looks over to Dasha and Alex, her curiosity finally getting the better of her. Slipping from her place on the mat, she moves to sit sidesaddle next to dasha (a safe distance mind) and says gently "Alex's one of the best when it comes to understanding powers. He even helped me t'fahhnd a bit of peace wit mine." she looks to Alex, "He c'n help ya, ain't even a question. "Fu...Fudge. Sorry. Fudge. Sorry Alex. I will cut my tongue out and shiiip. Ship it off across the English Channel or something." She Throws high bubbles and low bubbles, bounces bubbles off each other in mid air, swerves other bubbles around the bouncing bubbles. Fun with pink! "Alex is great, that's for sure." Dasha blushes, suddenly embarrassed by her outburst. She withdraws her hands, looking down. She thinks for a moment, then looks back up again. "You promise there are people like me?" She looks at her soon-to-be-classmates, then back. She startles at Kenzie's approach. "I do not want to startle anyone, but I might know a calmer place in my mind." Dasha looks at Amaya, Candi, then back to Alex. Amaya stops focusing and lets her arcing cease. She looks over to the new girl and gives her a smile, "I am new here too and there are all sorts of people here. Everyone is really cool and I can tell that you are too! I think everyone here has had a pretty nasty past but you've landed in the best place possible. I think anyway. Everyone has been really helpful so far." Kenzie laughs at Dashas worry about startling anyone. "Shug, if y'can startle one person here, ahh'll take ya to the movies and dinner, on me" she exclaims before looking to the others. Finally she moves to resume her meditation, though one eye stays open, watching the new girl, her curiosity piqued. "Sahhds, aint lahhk y'kin make d'world spin backwards and d'sky turn orange." Alex Summers shrugs faintly. "Dasha, I promise whatever you do won't freak me out. I've seen just about everything." He pats the girl on the hand again and rises to his feet. "So, go ahead and show us what's got you so upset." He does smile at Kensington and Candi. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, ladies." He could relate to these kids about power control, because he once had the very same issue. Dasha blinks a few times, then nods. Alright then. "Pardon me, then," She scoots a bit away from Alex, removing her shirt "This will explain part of what I can do," she says, wriggling out of her pants. Only in her bra and panties, Dasha closes her eyes, concentrating. Seconds pass, and those watching would see the quick spread of a dark black fur. A groan escapes her lips as bones crunch and rearrange. Her mouth opens wide as her teeth grow large and jagged in her mouth. Whiskers sprout, and her ears turn into small black tufts. Her toes grow pads and her feet turn to paws. The remainder of her clothes rip off as her mass begins to grow. Moments after the transformation started, it's complete. A large melanistic jaguar now lays in the middle of the room, intelligent yellow eyes watching for reactions. Kenzie's eyes spark once before she exclaims "Shit yeah!" she giggles "Thats amazing!" she says to alex "Look! She's so FLUFFY!" kenzie cant help but get excited. The girl wonders "So uh.." she tilts her head "Can she understand us ya think?" she says to alex. Amaya blinks as she sees Dasha shapeshift. She steps back but somehow manages to not freak out. "Wow. Hello Kitty!" She gives a smile even though her voice is a touch shaky. She hasn't seen a shapeshifter yet so its a first day for this. She moves a little closer in either a show of bravery or stupidity. "You're right Kenzie! She does look fluffy!" Candi keeps up her juggling, because that seems to be the point of all the breathing stuff. She juggles and juggles while her eyes go wide, "Holy Meow Meow! That is awesome! You just got moved up on the cool kid list several spots." Alex Summers watches Dasha transform and raises a blonde brow. "That is beyond cool. But I have seen it before, or something like it. I have a friend who does similar, only she's a wolf." Unafraid, he reaches out to pet Dasha as he looks into her eyes. "Yes. She understands us, but I don't think she can talk back in this form. Still...that's pretty impressive." He smiles at the big cat. "And I bet you expected us to run." Dasha!Kitty blinks slowly, unable to speak in her jaguar form. She might seem surprised that no one ran away screaming, but all she does is open her maw wide in a yawn and flicks her tail. Kenzie reaches a hand out nervously "So...what.." she says "Lahhk...do we scratch its belly?" she asked eyeing the large hunting kitteh, "Or..uh...saucer of milk?" Candi catches her bubbles one by one and then she gets up and says to Kenzie, "She's not an its. She's a person. You don't just go around petting people. It is totally rude. See? That's why Alex is totally petting her. Cause he got dibs and we have to wait turns to pet her. I think she's more a big bloody haunch of meat kind of kitty though. Or a big honking fish. Like a whole salmon." Amaya looks at Kenzie, "Hon, tomorrow's bugle headline. Spider-man responsible for turning wild cat loose in school. Student used as chew toy for thinking she was a house cat." She laughs a little. "Sorry I always get a kick out of the bugle. It's worse then a tabloid sometimes. Anyway. Dasha was it? You are awesome and the fact that you can turn into a big kitty is even more awesome." Alex Summers chuckles a little but says softly. "Okay, easy on the cat jokes, guys. She's the same on the inside whether she's a cat or human." He hmms. "Though transforming has got to be tough on clothes. I'll talk to Hank. Have him fashion you an outfit made of unstable molecules..that way the outfit will grow or shrink with whatever form you take, so you can protect your modesty." He adds. "You're going to fit in great here, Daria." Dasha!Kitty watches the other approach with calm eyes, not used to this kind of attention. Candi doesn't approach. She lets Alex do his thing and forms a basketball sized bubble, which she begins to dribble, hunched over slightly in order to do her best Michael Jordan. "So...pretty cool power. I wonder if she's gotta go cat every so often, or if it happens when she gets mad, or what." Kenzie looks to Dasha for a moment, "Maybe, ahh mean, when ahh lose mahh temper mah powers flare. Hell, if ahh get upset enough or..uh...lose control, ahh can emp a city block." she explained, hand still out, just in case. Amaya shrugs, "Ask her?" She smiles and walks over to sit on the mat again. She quickly begins to meditate again. A small stream of electricity begins flowing between her hands again. Dasha!Kitty shakes her large head, flicks her tail twice, then shudders. Her bones start to pop again, and her form dwindles down back to her human one. She sits there, stark naked and unfazed by it- one could assume she's had to do this many times. She runs a hand through her hair. "I am surprised," She says, working her tongue around her mouth again, as if to get used to it's size. "And happy. I'm glad I can be accepted here." She closes her eyes, "You all are quite amazing people, with amazing talents it seems," She nods at the others. Candi quickly steps forward and makes a large bubble that she holds over Dasha's naughty bits, so Alex's brain doesn't explode. "Whoa! Naked pussapussa something that doesn't sound like a bad word I totally am not saying." Alex Summers stands up to his full height and then turns his back when Dasha shifts back. Once she's finished dressing he says, "That's enough for today. Everyone is dismissed, but we'll do this again next week. Next time we'll discuss control during stress." He grins at Dasha. "Everyone here is unique, Daria. We're just humans will gifts, no matter what the mutant haters say." Kenzie stares. But this is more than just, 'omg nudity'. Shes amazed and perhaps just a little bit jealous that the new girl had such a fine control over her power to be able to turn it on and off. "Thats.." she flushed red, turning slightly "uh..y....y..y.y'er uh...everythangs showin..." she said Amaya opens her eyes and discharges a little electricity. "Thank you Mr. Summers for the class." She smiles a little and turns to go but her eyes stop on Daria. "Umm. Okay Naked!" She immediately walks over to where she left her clothes and gathers them. With a little smile she hands them to her. "You might need these." Dasha looks around at the sudden attention to her nudity. Oops, she's not used to shifting in front of others! She thanks Candi for the cover, and doubly thanks Amaya for the retrieval of clothes. "Thank you for the lesson," She turns and grins toothily at Kenzie for her stammered response. Once the clothes are delivered and Dasha is busy with getting back into them, Candi relaxes in her duties of shielding her classmate from Alex, or Alex from her. "Any class that ends with naked people is a good class!" Kenzie does her best not to stare but it is quite the spectacle, though she does hide her eyes again with her shades. "Y..yeah g..g.good class." she stammered, biting her thumbnail before moving towards Alex. "Hey, any tahhm soon could ya maybe set up a bit of tahhm for more power combat trainin? Ahh need t'keep up mah uh..mutant therapy till ahh'm right as rain again" she explained Amaya smiles and gives a little wave, "I think I need some fresh air. Sorry about the roof, Mr. Summers. I really didn't try it." She looks towards the elevator and moves over to press the button. "this was awesome though!" Dasha rearranges her expression to her customary frown. Over already? She was just starting to get excited... Oh well. She watches everyone as they get ready to leave Alex Summers says, "Don't sweat it, Amaya. You didn't hurt anything, this place is designed to withstand much more than just a spark of lightning." Alex says with a smile. As he watches the others leave, he nods to Kenzie. "Sure. I've got some free time this weekend. Let's shoot for Saturday mornning." He waves to Dasha. "Glad you liked it. I hope to see you attend more of these Daria. If you like, I could set aside some time to work one on one with you."" Amaya enters the elevator and vanishes. Kenzie looks to Dasha curiously, "ahh heard you aint gettuh tour of d'mansion yet. Ahh got some free tahhm tonight if you're interested" she offers before looking to alex. "Defiantly shug. Saturday mornin it is." Dasha nods to Alex. "I would enjoy that. This is why I'm here, to learn control," She looks to Kenzie, surprised. "Yes, I haven't gone on the tour. You wouldn't mind showing me?" Alex Summers waves. "You girls have fun. And again we're happy to have you, Daria." With that, he disappears into the staff elevator.